"This Emperor Wu actually had achievements like this as well?"
Li Shimin realized that his previous understanding of civil governance had been somewhat narrow.
Emphasizing agriculture, repairing waterworks, filling the granaries, and ensuring long-term stability among the people was civil governance.
Improving official administration, opening mutual trade, ensuring sufficient state finances, and eliminating internal and external worries was also civil governance.
But he had not expected that now it seemed that fixing the calendar, unifying customs, allowing the four seas to celebrate together, and letting blessings for eternity be offered at the same time could also be considered civil governance.
However, Li Shimin immediately understood:
"This matter of setting customs is something only Emperor Wu could accomplish."
After all, the later generations had already made it very clear. Outstanding military strength was the most powerful guarantee for achieving all of this.
North and south no longer distinguishing between Hu and Han, the entire realm bathing in Han customs. The prerequisite for such grand achievements was using military force to make the barbarians regard Huaxia as supreme.
Zhangsun Wuji immediately followed up closely:
"Your Majesty neither exhausted the people with endless warfare, nor allowed soldiers to decay so that bandits would not weaken."
"And now, in your prime and full of strength, you can surely establish unparalleled military achievements, pacify the Western Regions, shake the waves of the seas, engrave the name of Tang across the world, praise martial merit, and thereby establish civil governance for a thousand ages."
These completely unrestrained words immediately made everyone look sideways.
You really are quite aware of your role as an in-law, aren't you?
Du Ruhui had just wanted to say something when Wei Zheng had already stepped forward before him to express disagreement:
"In the third year of Yuanshou, Sang Hongyang implemented the salt and iron state monopoly to make up for treasury deficits. The following year, the Marquis of Champion sealed Mount Langju."
"When unparalleled military achievements appear, signs of exhausting warfare already exist. Your Majesty should reflect on yourself. You should not become complacent because of the light screen, nor take pride in the fame of a thousand ages."
Zhangsun Wuji still wore a smiling expression. He cupped his hands toward Wei Zheng and showed no objection.
The smile that Li Shimin had just forced out from Zhangsun Wuji's flattery immediately stiffened a little.
Fortunately, Wei Zheng was not finished:
"Since Your Majesty already bears the heroic name of a thousand ages, you should take this as motivation. Only then can your governance be comparable to that of Yao and Shun."
Du Ruhui was instantly a little astonished:
I thought you were a minister who dared to remonstrate with blunt words. I did not expect you to be able to speak such flattering words about matching Yao and Shun. Truly, I misjudged you.
Li Shimin hurriedly declined with humility. After all, he had only been emperor for five years. If his ministers spoke like this, was that not placing him on a fire to roast?
After things settled down here, Empress Zhangsun leaned toward Li Shimin and laughed softly:
"I have heard that Wei Zheng's words are like blades and iron. Why do I instead often hear such gentle and charming words?"
Li Shimin was instantly helpless and, for the first time, felt a bit of pressure on his shoulders.
…
Zhao Kuangyin argued loudly:
"What do you mean by bullying orphans and widows?"
"The four kings of Zheng, Cao, Ji, and Qi were all enfeoffed. And the Empress Dowager of Zhou was given care and attention on every holiday. How can that be called bullying?"
In response to the Son of Heaven's loud words, the young eunuchs naturally dared not say anything. Zhao Pu looked at his nose, then his heart, pretending not to notice anything.
Zhao Guangyi sneered internally. If it was not bullying, then explain clearly why Chai Zongxun died of illness at only twenty years old.
And before elder brother became the Palace Inspector of Zhou, where did that nursery rhyme in Bianliang, "The Inspector will become the Son of Heaven," come from?
Moreover, now there were rumors saying that the Empress Dowager of Zhou should become a nun.
Zhao Guangyi did not know whether the Empress Dowager truly studied Buddhism deeply and thus should become a nun. He only knew that if this former dynasty's Empress Dowager really entered monastic life, it would indeed be very suitable for his elder brother.
Of course, this sneer could only be hidden in his heart.
At least on the surface, Zhao Guangyi's face showed a bit of unfeigned indignation:
"The Son of Heaven strictly restrains the soldiers and forbids plunder, stabilizing hearts and bringing peace to the four directions. Is this not a hundred times better than those dynasties that let troops loot freely during regime changes?"
Zhao Kuangyin nodded with complicated feelings.
This complexity included both shame at old matters being brought up again, and sorrow at suddenly realizing that his reputation in later generations did not seem particularly good either.
He had just been mocking Tang Taizong earlier. He had not expected that it would be his turn so soon.
[Lightscreen]
[It can basically be said that the Taichu Calendar was not only the first relatively complete ritual and calendrical system of ancient times, but also an ancient holiday guide.
Besides fixing the time of the New Year, another function of the Taichu Calendar was to set Laba Day.
Laba Day is the day of the Laji sacrifice.
From the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, during the agricultural era of ancient ancestors, a tradition gradually formed of holding sacrifices in the twelfth month.
This was both to repay the blessings of the agricultural gods and to look ahead to next year's harvest, praying that everyone could live a good life.
This sacrificial ceremony was called Qing Si in the Xia, Jia Ping in the Shang, and was named "La" in the Zhou. By the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Book of Rites had already made detailed regulations on the objects of sacrifice, prayers, procedures, attire, and performances of the La sacrifice.
Just as Chinese festivals are often inseparable from eating, the La sacrifice was no exception. After it ended, a grand feast was held, so Laba Day also became associated with food.
This set of sacrificial procedures worshipped eight kinds of gods such as the First Farmer, agriculture, water, insects, and others, so it was also called the "Son of Heaven's Grand Laba Eight."
Before the Han dynasty, the La sacrifice was only fixed in the twelfth month, but the specific day was disputed. Until Emperor Wu of Han felt it would not do, and directly stipulated in the Taichu Calendar that the third Day of Xu after the Winter Solstice would be Laba Day, on which the La sacrifice would be performed.
The objects of sacrifice also changed from the Eight Gods of the four directions and merged with another type of royal La sacrifice that focused on ancestral temples in the pre-Qin period. It was simplified into worshipping the Five Household Gods and the ancestors.
However, because the date of the Winter Solstice constantly changed, occasionally when the Winter Solstice was relatively late, Laba Day would fall into the first lunar month, conflicting with the tradition of holding Laba in the twelfth month. Therefore, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was simply established as the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
In addition, during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, another matter occurred, which was the large-scale entry of Buddhism into Huaxia.
As we all know, in order to take root in Huaxia, Buddhism always strove for localization.
Although Laba had a tradition of grand feasts, in ancient times there were many poor refugees who struggled even to find food and clothing. Thus, temples would mix rice and fruits into porridge on this day, under the name of celebrating Shakyamuni's enlightenment day, and widely distribute it to the hungry as a meritorious deed. Hence the name Laba Porridge.
Another factor promoting Laba porridge was the miserable survival conditions of the people during chaotic times.
For example, after the An Lushan Rebellion, the signs of regional warlordism had already appeared. Relations between the central and local governments gradually became tense, and corvée labor and taxes increased.
For example, after the Jingkang Humiliation, the Southern Song court could basically be said to engage in sustainably draining the people dry. Zhu Xi said, "All the methods of harsh exaction from antiquity are present in this dynasty." Chao Shuozhi said, "Song taxes and labor are several dozen times those of the Han." In the Southern Song, recorded miscellaneous taxes alone included surcharge, transfer fees, transport fees, conversion fees, head taxes, cattle-hide taxes, charity-granary taxes, entry taxes, contract-stamp taxes, cloth-conversion fees, compulsory silk purchases, and many others, not even half of the total list of miscellaneous levies.
Under such circumstances, Laba porridge became the greatest hope for many common people throughout the entire year.
Of course, up to today, Laba porridge has shed all religious coloring.
In the Song dynasty, temple porridge made from seven kinds of rice and fruits could be called "seven treasures and five flavors," causing people to scramble for it, and those who failed to get any would cry bitterly.
Now, supermarket Laba porridge can contain dozens of ingredients, yet we still complain that it is hard to swallow.
From this, one can see that today's stable and prosperous life can be said to surpass the entire five thousand years of Huaxia history.]